Share of imports that come from China in South Korea
South Korea: Share of imports that come from China was 22.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of imports that come from China in South Korea, 1949–2025
Source: International Monetary Fund (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of imports that come from china in South Korea is 22.5%, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 1.4% on the previous year and up 8.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of imports that come from china in South Korea peaked at 23.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.7%, in 1949.
That places South Korea 61st out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Share of imports that come from China in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 2.7% | — |
| 1991 | 4.3% | +56.6% |
| 1992 | 4.6% | +8.1% |
| 1993 | 4.7% | +2.0% |
| 1994 | 5.4% | +14.3% |
| 1995 | 5.5% | +2.7% |
| 1996 | 5.8% | +3.9% |
| 1997 | 6.9% | +20.3% |
| 1998 | 7.0% | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 7.4% | +6.5% |
| 2000 | 8.0% | +7.7% |
| 2001 | 9.4% | +18.2% |
| 2002 | 11.5% | +21.8% |
| 2003 | 12.3% | +6.6% |
| 2004 | 13.2% | +7.6% |
| 2005 | 14.8% | +12.3% |
| 2006 | 15.7% | +6.1% |
| 2007 | 17.7% | +12.5% |
| 2008 | 17.7% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 16.8% | -5.0% |
| 2010 | 16.8% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 16.5% | -2.1% |
| 2012 | 15.6% | -5.7% |
| 2013 | 16.1% | +3.6% |
| 2014 | 17.1% | +6.4% |
| 2015 | 20.7% | +20.7% |
| 2016 | 21.4% | +3.6% |
| 2017 | 20.6% | -4.1% |
| 2018 | 20.0% | -2.8% |
| 2019 | 21.4% | +7.2% |
| 2020 | 23.4% | +9.4% |
| 2021 | 22.7% | -3.3% |
| 2022 | 21.3% | -5.9% |
| 2023 | 22.3% | +4.6% |
| 2024 | 22.2% | -0.7% |
| 2025 | 22.5% | +1.4% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 22.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 9.4%, 2.4× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 22.5% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 26.4%, 85% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of imports that come from China in South Korea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | +56.6% | 2.7% | 4.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 2.7% | 2.7% | 2.7% | 1 |
| 1990s | 5.7% | 4.3% | 7.4% | 9 |
| 2000s | 13.7% | 8.0% | 17.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.6% | 15.6% | 21.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.4% | 21.3% | 23.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More economy & growth data for South Korea
- Real gdp growth, annual growth rate -49.75 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, annual growth rate 7.89 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0085 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per capita 307.17 units per person (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, annual growth rate 2.74 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0062 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per capita 224.29 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, annual growth rate 4.58 % change on previous year (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0047 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per capita 168.75 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of imports that come from china in South Korea?
- Share of imports that come from china in South Korea was 22.5% in 2025, according to International Monetary Fund (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of imports that come from china recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 23.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of imports that come from china recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.7% in 1949.
- How does South Korea rank for share of imports that come from china?
- South Korea ranks 61st out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of imports that come from china rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from International Monetary Fund (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of imports that come from China. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of a country's total goods imports, including freight and insurance costs, that come from China.